He started off well at a string of tracks that are traditionally good for him. And then he hit the bulk of the 1.5-mile tracks, where he was solid but not great. And then he spent the middle third of the year trying to earn a spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Paul Menard had another disappointing season at Richard Childress Racing, finishing 16th in the final standings. (AP Photo)

Menard wasn’t successful, ending the regular season in 17th in the standings. He would have been 14th in the regular season if he didn’t have a 25-point penalty for an illegal frame rail at Michigan. By the end of the year, he moved up one spot to 16th (he would have been 15th without the penalty).

Menard had just one top-five (a third at Kansas in October) and had nine top-10s. That isn’t necessarily Chase-caliber but Menard’s strength was his ability to avoid bad races. He had just eight finishes outside the top-20.

So it was a season in which he would have liked to have been better, especially with the struggles of Richard Childress Racing — the organization didn’t record a win until Kevin Harvick won in the next-to-last-race at Phoenix.

"It's always bittersweet when the season ends,” Menard said. “I feel like we have a lot left to accomplish, but it will be nice to have a restart for next year, too."

Highlight: The highlight was his third-place finish at Kansas. It was the first race with crew chief Richard “Slugger” Labbe back after a six-week suspension for that illegal frame at Michigan. With two extra days of testing on the repaved Kansas track, Menard shows how he could adapt and learn a track.

Low point: The penalty and the suspension of Labbe for the infraction at Michigan.

Defining moment: While Richmond is not one of his best tracks, his 23rd-place finish at Richmond in September defined the season for Menard because it signaled that he would not make the Chase. Considering he had three top-10s and eight finishes of 14th or better in his nine previous races leading into Richmond, he still could not make a run strong enough to get in the Chase and realistically never made himself a serious contender.

Outlook for 2013: Menard, who has just one career victory, will look to improve on his 16th-place finish but will need everything to fall into place. He’ll need to have RCR improve as a whole. And it will have to overcome what could be a tumultuous situation — all three drivers reportedly have their contracts up after the 2013 season and Kevin Harvick reportedly is already out the door.